Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1887-05-12


Gov. Rusk, Gen. Fairchild and the
commissioners. The next day the COM
missioners, headed by Gov. Rusk and
Col. Bachelor, the government histor-
ian. who knows more about the battle
field than any man living, visited the
scene of the great fight.
The Iron brigade, second and seven
teenth regiments, going south where
Gen. Reynolds was killed and where
monument is erected, located their mon
uments on little wooded ridge about
200 feet south of the former, and the
Sixth Wisconsin, near the bridge over
the railroad track, on Battlefield avenue,
which runs north and south. The
statue of Gen. Reynolds is of bronze,
and stands just inside the entrance to
the cemetery. 1t is of semicolossal size,
mounted upon pedestal of granite and
fronts upon the south. The Third Wis
consin commissioners located their
monument on CUPS farm almost to the
extreme right of the line, near the mon
ument of the Second Massachusetts and
and Twenty-seyenth Indiana, selecting a
large rock as foundation. The Fifth
Wisconsin monument was located east
of Big Round Top, on the left of the line.
This is three miles out of town and is
reached by the Taneytown road. An
observatory, higher than the surround
ing trees, has been built on top. The
Twenty-sixth regiment was placed in
line of battle in large corn field be-
longing to the poor farm, which has not
yet been purchased by the Memorial
association. The party was moving so
fast that the line could not be established.
but Gen Winkler, Capt. Steinmeyer and
Maj. Traumer were determined to find
the right spot and therefore made ar
engagements to tramp over the field alone,
until they found the line where the reg
iment did its hard fighting, and then
locate the monument under large
Pinook oak At the time of the battle
the tree was very small, but now it is
large enough to shelter the monument.
By this time every one was tired and
felt the heat, but a small party consist
ing of Sergt. Webster, Messrs. Halves
and Baker, Col Bachelor and Maj.
Treuman, continued along the line to
find the ground where Berdan's First
regiment of sharpshooters did their
fighting, and in looking for peach or
chard they found old trees and most
handsome monument placed there by the
First Massachusetts. Directly north of
this the monument of the sharpshooters
was located
This ended the first days work. The
next morning the battle field was again
visited, and on Little Round Top, Col.
Bachelor delivered lecture on the
three days fight, telling of the courage
of the troops, the many mistakes made
by them and the mistake made by Gen.
Lee, which caused the early defeat of
the confederate army.
The monuments to be erected for Wis
consin regiments will be of gray or blue
granite for its base and red granite for
the monument, so that by glancing over
the battlefield the visitor can at once per-
ceive where the Wisconsin regiments
were in line. Of course some regiments
had two or more positions during this
battle, and these will receive a second
stone or mark for other positions.
When the Wisconsin monuments are
in position, the committe will get up
an excursion to Gettysburg, and the
shaft will then be unveiled. This will
be some time in May of next year.
The commissioners broke camp. as it
were, Thursday evening. Gov. Rusk,
who accompanied them, left Gettysburg
Thursday evening for home. With him
were Mr.. Sanford, Gen. Rogers, Capt.
Pond and Sergt. Webster. Capt. Har-
shaw stopped at Harrisburg, Pa, for a
brief visit, and MIR. Pease in Ohio. Gems
Fairchild, Winker and Mr.. Halves
went to New York and the rest of the
party to Washington. The governor
reached home Saturday night, bringing
with him handsome lockwood cane
which was presented to him by a veteran
on the battlefield. He was greatly in
terested in the scene of the famous fight |
He reports that the association, which |
under charter granted by the state of
Pennsylvania controls the grounds, owns
the title to about 800 acres of land al |
together. The entire battle of Gettys-
burg was fought over many miles of ter
ritory, but the association has only Sc
cured strips about 100 feet wide which |
mark the various regimental battle-lines.
These strips are to be converted into
shade boulevards, with monuments ut |
the sides. Several of the states already |
have their monuments erected and oc- !
casionally one may be seen set off in
some farmer field, quite distance from
the avenues. Governor Bodwell and the |
Maine commissioners were on the ground.
Rusk says that the Maine governor re-
minds one very much of our own late
G. c. Washburn. Gov. Bodwell com
plimented the Badger executive on his
stand in the May riots and also on his
last message. The rebel general, Pick
EFT, was expected on the battlefield the
evening Gov. Rusk left. to select sites
for monuments to indicate the Con-
lines of haftln which arn soon